Crossroads

Monday, April 16, 2012 - 07:00 PM

In this short, we go looking for the devil, and find ourselves tangled in a web of details surrounding one of the most haunting figures in music--a legendary guitarist whose shadowy life spawned a legend so powerful, it's still being repeated...even by fans who don't believe a word of it.

For years and years, Jad's been fascinated by the myth of what happened to Robert Johnson at the crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The story goes like this: back in the 1920s, Robert Johnson wanted to play the blues. But he really sucked. He sucked so much, that everyone who heard him told him to get lost. So he did. He disappeared for a little while, and when he came back, he was different. His music was startling--and musicians who'd laughed at him before now wanted to know how he did it. And according to the now-famous legend, Johnson had a simple answer: he went out to the crossroads just before midnight, and when the devil offered to tune his guitar in exchange for his soul, he took the deal.

Producer Pat Walters bravely escorts Jad to the scene of the supposed crime, in the middle of the night in the Mississippi Delta, to try to track down some shred of truth to all this. Not because they really thought something spooky would actually happen, but because deep down, there's a part of this story that--as much as the facts fall apart--still feels kind of true.

To help us get close to the real human behind the tall tales, we talk to Robert Johnson experts Tom Graves, Elijah Wald, David Evans, and Robert “Mack” McCormick. And we hear, posthumously, from Ledell Johnson...a man of no relation to Robert, who unintentionally helped the world fall for a blues-imbued ghost story.

More in:

Comments [68]

In the movie "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" the African American guitarist they pick up at a "cross-roads" was named Tommy Johnson, perhaps the actual "Johnson" where the myth originates... great movie and great story guys.

Very late to your party, which is, I think, fitting, since your story is, in essence, about a bunch of (well-intentioned)( white men telling their stories about being late to the Robert Johnson party.

I know your thematic focus is "the crossroads" and you don't come out and give a disclaimer that you're not doing a Johnson documentary. But I don't think that in 2012 (two years ago as I write this) you get off the hook so easy. Because you DO give your audience the impression that what you are telling them was hard to find, that not many people have this information, that you are handing them rare ephemera. You might have gotten away with that in the 1980s or 1990s but enigmatic and sparse as Johnson's story remains, MUCH more factual information is known that you let on to your audience.

Where's Robert Junior Lockwood in your story? Johnson's stepson was alive till 2006/7 and gave many interviews about his time with Johnson- factual information. What about the factual information accessible about Don Law's recordings themselves- made in Dallas and San Antonio?

Where are the several photographs of Johnson that are (now, not always) readily available, on t-shirts even? There's even a USPS stamp with Johnson's visage.

Your "Couple of White Guys Talking about the Crossroads" story is well done and for people who've never heard of Johnson, it's a way in. But the manner of presentation, which more than implies you brought this information back from some sparse, hazy void full of cobwebs and mystery, is flatly bogus, lacking in verisimilitude.

As for Mack McCormick, that's not new either. See Texas Monthly's 2002 piece: http://www.texasmonthly.com/content/mack-mccormick-still-has-blues .

There's never going to be a LOT of information available but there's a great deal more, from firsthand sources, that is easily available, than your story would lead listeners to believe. And you doubtless had access to it yet you cherrypicked to add mystery and atmosphere. You edited together a story that is deliberately more mysterious than need be. Yes, you cited Guralnick and a couple of other sources, but more is available. Why not share that with your audience?

Sorry to go on so long, but I've come to expect so much more from Radiolab. This wasn't just overly subjective. It was disingenuous.

The history of music and the blues is interesting to me. Music has always been a big part of my life and a big interest of mine. The belief of the cross roads and the Devil tuning guitars to makes artists great is interesting. The music history of this pod cast is fascinating to me.

The mythology on crossroads is something that has always haunted me yet intrigued me at the same time. The idea of waiting at a crossroads and just as it strikes 12 the devil appears is kind of mystical in a sense. Being a hardcore fan of supernatural I thought I knew all there is to know about making a deal with the devil but after listening to this podcast I am certain that I am far from the expert I thought I was. The most eerie part about this podcast was how out of all the odds Robert Johnson was murdered. That just adds to the great mystery of how a horrendous blues player turned into a inspirational musician. What I loved most about the podcast was the ending. It left you pondering whether Robert Johnson because a high class musician based on trauma or does the Devil actually exist.

Thoroughly enjoyed this piece. My partner and I went on a several month long blog adventure in search of the roots of the blues in America and attempted to connect with Robert Johnson's spirit as he traveled up highway 61 to and through the "Crossroads." Read and enjoy our blog, benandruth.blogspot.comThis work in progress will be emerging as a multimedia book soon.

I know it's been a long time since you first recorded the story, but I wanted to leave a comment to say I don't think what you found negates the eerie qualities of the legend. Here, instead, you have a man whose life is so shrouded in mystery that fact and fiction are impossible to pull apart, who some say sold his soul, who some say died, yet who appears and disappears in different places and different times long after the first reports of his death, what haunting recordings you have of his music following him all the way. In some ways, it makes the story better.

"Trivia" means 'three roads' and is the alternative name of a roman Goddess also called Hecate, who would stand where three roads crossed and feed on the offerings left her by country folk trying to appease the thefts, murders and rapes that went on in that area.Yes, the legend of the devil turning up where roads cross is as old as the hills, dates back millenia.

The question is. is it true? Does the Devil turn up when you invite him/her?

Well, since this show was aired one and a half years ago, I know I'm on the "late freight", but here goes.

I was taught that the legend of the crossroads in Black American culture was derived from the West African (Yoruba) religion, specifically the deity" Eshu" AKA "Elegua", god of the crossroads, and sometimes referred to as the "Trickster". This deity is often associated with the Christian devil in syncretic religious expression practiced by West Africans who had been bought to the new world as slaves.

I've heard blues musicians refer to meeting a guy named "Mr. Legua" (Elegua) at the crossroads to bestow gifts of musical ability in trade for whatever you got. (Sorry, can't come up with a reference).

I've seen offerings placed at crossroads in many countries that I presume we're placed there by members if the West African diaspora. The idea is the offering wards off trouble that this deity is reputed to be a responsible for. Offerings are often toys, dolls, or little trinkets that are said to be objects of interest to this deity.

Hey! Do you know if they make any plugins to help with SEO?I'm trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I'm not seeing very good results. If you know of any please share.Kudos! Edwin

Great show! I am a big fan of Robert Johnson. I just want to comment that to say that Johnson sold his soul to the devil or he experienced some tragedy and that event was what made him a great musician may demean from the long hours and hard work he likely put in to becoming so great. Though I think the experience of sorrow is evident in the voices and sounds of the blues masters, their hard work should also be recognized.

This was great. I'd seen the movie and new the plot but wasn't aware of the actual musician behind the story. I love the blues and knowing the full story has inspired me to play some right now. Thanks.

The devil's greatest accomplishment is to...convince the world that he doesn't exist. We sometimes sell our souls to the devil when we fail to acknowledge his existence and then continue to walk in darkness unknowingly...or perhaps well aware of our choices. Like on that night at the crossroads when walking in the darkness, Robert Johnson had his chance meeting with the "thief of souls"! Mr. Johnson got his coveted guitar tuned so he could play those haunting melodies we enjoy today!

What is it that the devil has offered you today?

Was it worth your soul Mr. Johnson?

Is it worth your soul? Sleep well tonight pondering that thought.

Contemplate the worthiness of what ever it is that may be drawing you away from God. Is it material things, money, cars, the "American Dream" even...(in the memory of snaggle tooth)

Jesus was tempted by the devil at the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem. The same devil who tempts us today offered God Himself all the nations in the world and everything in them. All Jesus would have to do is bow to the devil.

Jesus chose to die for our sins and rose again, that each one of us may choose Him and recieve new life eternal. This pissed the devil off and he is still at work today reaping wayward souls all around us. Maybe yours!

I hope not! Jesus says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" ~John 14:6~

If you've seen Him (Jesus), you've seen the Father (God).

"Sympathy for the Devil" by the Stones is a classic by the way. Even the Stones got some things correct in this tune! Enjoy!

Sydneyescorts.net.au, the world of experienced escorts service in Sydney and NSW. We are among the top agencies for escort’s service. Our well experienced Australian escorts know all the skills to please and make your night unforgettable.

You guys just don’t get it. Or you do, and you were leaving it unsaid. They were all Robert Johnson's. The only question is if the recordings were made with the original human being, or with one of the spirit Roberts. How does it sound to you?

I followed the Johnson story since 1965 when a friend loaned me "King of the Delta Blues" record. I was startled to hear The Stones sing "All My Love In Vain" because this song and a few others were not included on the vinyl R. Johnson releases. It seems the collectors in England were extreme in that they had huge clubs that would comb the U.S.A. for rare blues. Keith Richards talks about this in his book. The other shocking discovery was when someone found Roberts family and they produced two photos. So for thirty years everyone Dylan, Jagger, Clapton and all had idolized this guy without knowing what he looked like. The best information I found came from Johnny Shines who traveled with Johnson for many years. Shines said Johnson could play anything including the latest pop records and would often abandon him without notice. If you want to hear what Johnson could have become listen to Johnnys later records. Good show you guys.

You all might enjoy reading my new article in The Huffington Post today: Robert Johnson and the Myth of the Illiterate Bluesman, which includes excerpts from my interview with Robert Johnson's common-law stepson Robert Jr. Lockwood. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-devi/robert-johnson-and-the-my_b_1628118.html

I really enjoy your show, the topics and presentations are always well done. But this one was more than that. It inspired me.My dad was a guitar player and my partner is a poet. I am a photographer and after listening to "Crossroads" I decided to visit the rail crossings near where I live. The result was a photo showing a paved road and a train rail crossing with the rails leading off into the perspective distance, reflecting the full moon overhead (taken at 11:45 p.m. on 6/4/12.) While my belief system is a rational one, I did look over my shoulder once to be sure the croak I heard was just a frog in the nearby pond.

Isn't it interesting that the "Crossroads" story is a blues version of what Pagganini did. If you want to listen to some of the devils most potent music listen to the classics e.g. Night on a bare mountain by Mussorgsky.

How could you do this whole story and not bring up the curse of 27? The second part of the legend is that because Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil (and died at the age of 27) many other musicians have also been claimed by the devil at that same age- Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. An intriguing added wrinkle, no?

The crossroads story also relates to an aspect of traditional African religions on the life, thought and experience of African Americans throughout the diaspora. There exists the trickster, Papa Legba (or Èṣù, Exu, Eshu Eleggua) who is not to be confused with the Christian concept of the devil. Rather, Papa Legba is the character whose presence at the crossroads represents unrelated intentions meeting and the coincidence of unrelated causes. Please consider checking out the article Hear That Long Snake Moan by Michael Ventura:http://www.sjsu.edu/people/mira.amiras/courses/c10/s2/Michael Ventura Hear that Long Snake Moan.pdf

I have enjoyed RadioLab for awhile, but this story really got me. I too have been thinking about the crossroads myth for a long time ( being a blues fan how could you not?) and knew some of the stuff you presented already due to my own research. However, there was some new information in the story that I didn't know that really caught me by surprise. I think my interest has been stoked and I will be taking that trip to Robbinsville I have always planned but never done.

BTW I would be curious which one of the many "true" crossroads you chose for your story.

I always thought that the Robert Johnson story was interesting because its one of those examples where African Spiritual practices really intersect with mainstream American Pop culture. As several people have noted before me, the crossroads is symbolic in West African spiritual practices as an intersection between the world of the living and the ancestors. The Bakongo Cosmogram is symbolic of this : http://www.nps.gov/ethnography/aah/aaheritage/lowCountry_furthRdg4.htm

Johnson's music offers a few other glimpses into African spiritual practices surviving in the United States well into the 20th century; he mentions a "nation sack" in "Come on in My Kitchen", and a mojo in "Little Queen of Spades".

Regardless, thanks for a great show, I'm glad you ended it leaving us listeners not quite knowing what happened to Robert, or what it all meant. Really brings home how much we've all lost, not just to Jim Crow and segregation, but to history in general.

I really love your show. I thought this might be an interesting addition. This whole story talks about how these myths and stories of music make their way across the whole of the community and are attributed to different folks.

As soon as you bought up the part about Robert Johnson's wife dying and him having to come home to see her it immediately, it reminded me of this fantastic song "Death Letter Blues" by Son House. Much like the song "Cross Roads" it hints at a common blues theme.

Looking at the picture here, where I come from we call that a T-junction.Y'all can wait all night for Devil to come but he ain't putting in no appearance at no T-junction.Y'all want a crossroads, y'hear?

Dating back to ancient times, people have always enjoyed in shrouding the lives and deaths of musicians, artists, writers, etc. in mystery and turn it into folklore or even inspire conspiracy theories.

The different versions of Robert Johnson's reason for his unique playing and his death, kind of remind me of Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison, Cobain and how they all died at the same age and under circumstances that have an official explanation but you also can find various alternate truths and versions of their death floating around amongst those who follow their lives and work more closely.

I believe the various stories tell us more about the story teller and what they want to believe.Inspiration is what artists are supposed to give us and some are just very successful in that.

One more thought:Robert Johnson was a honest, genuine and original musician, dating back to a time as recorded music just began to influence masses of musicians far away from the original recordings.Some music scholars argue that it took away from the originality of local music, which used to sound more regional and uniquely distinct, before records and traveling became more common.I am so grateful we have old recorded music of any genre, but it also contributed to a diminishing of original aspects until todays internet connecting just about everybody on earth.

I enjoyed this show, but I was a little frustrated that the topic of "the devil at the crossroads"--which originally sounded like the primary subject of your story--was largely ignored. Cory Hutchinson above posted some great info on this topic. Here's a link with more: http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html

I think it's most important to note, here, that in the Tommy Johnson story, it was never mentioned in the interview that he had sold his soul, or that the "black man" was the devil with a capital D, aka Satan. I'm afraid that a lot of Eurocentric presumptions are at play when most listeners/readers hear Tommy Johnson's tale.

(The same could also be said for the "Br'er Rabbit" tales and other folklore and myths from the African Diaspora that have been filtered through a Eurocentric lens.)

I really liked this story too. I concur with Cory Hutcheson. What about investigating connection with the Yoruba diety Eshu, god of the crossroads? Yoruba belief systems show up in many African-descendant traditions in the Americas. I suspect that many of the traditions that Cory pointed to might be linked to Eshu too.

Thank you for this. It inspired a blog post, http://chamblee54.wordpress.com/2012/04/21/crossroads/.While listening to this, and some other Robert Johnson radio shows, I was editing pictures from the Library of Congress. The other shows dealt with technical issues with the Johnson recordings. While I was listening, I was altering the way people looked in the Peoria IL of 1938. Is it real, or is it Memorex?

An interesting connection: John Hammond's son, John P., hosted the 1991 UK television documentary "The Search for Robert Johnson", detailing the life of the legendary Delta bluesman, Robert Johnson. Early in his career John P. performed delta blues music.

Thank you for delving into one of my favorite blues stories! I found this podcast absolutely riveting! I read about slowing Robert Johnson's songs down 20% and I tried it with some audio editing software. It seems to me slowing it down 10% instead was much more realistic. For an added ghostly touch, I set playback to echo which gave me goosebumps!

Nice work. But I have to say the speculation about how/if Robert Johnson died is a bit of a stretch. Honeyboy Edwards, who died this year, long told the tale of RJ's death, which was well witnessed. You might check "The World Don't Owe Me Nothing," his transcribed autobiography.

I hope you checked out Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero, cause there isn't much else out there: Anyway, Great show, keep them coming!!! And again thanks for bringing light to the South's positive influences:)

This is an AWESOME story. I am a music fan since I can remember. Those songs made me cry, before I could speak English. The lyrics, now that I understand them, do not add to the feeling, whatever it is. It comes from the soul.

Read the about section of the Radiolab site where you will discover ....."Radiolab is a show about curiosity. Where sound illuminates ideas, and the boundaries blur between science, philosophy, and human experience." - voila this podcast is right on!

I personally really enjoyed hearing more about the myth of Robert Johnson. Music history is awesome and your podcasts on the theme of music (Jad i detect you are behind this) are my favourite. I'd love to hear from on the great composers if you can find a cool angle.

I just want to say how excited I was to see that this was the newest short. Ever since I was young I have always felt a deep pull towards folk music and the blues of the deep south, but since then I had moved away from it. Listening to this podcast brought me back to my youth in a way that I haven't been able to access in quite a long time.

This was an amazing and beautiful story, guys. I'm a big fan of the music of and folklore surrounding the blues. And hearing Robert Johnson's voice in that ghostly recording really resonated.

I did notice that you veered away from looking into the folklore of the crossroads in favor of really uncovering the story of the two blues musicians involved (which is totally understandable, and was absolutely great, especially the interview with Tommy's brother!). But I wanted to share a few indications that the crossroads story does not originate with these two musicians, and instead appears in several different folkloric accounts predating the emergence of the Robert/Tommy version:

• The multiple incidents of crossoroads conjure recorded by Harry M. Hyatt between 1935-1939 (read more here: http://www.luckymojo.com/crossroads.html), which would have pre-dated the “creation” of this story as described in the Radiolab short• The numerous incidences of crossroads as places of healing, particularly by trading things like a wart or a sty to a mysterious stranger, in Southern and African American folklore (which can be found in Hyatt’s work, the work of Vance Randolph, and the work of Newbell Niles Puckett).• Puckett’s description of the crossroads ritual as an origin for folk hero Jack, which was published in 1926 and states:"Various legends are in vogue among the Negroes to account for the origin of this creature. One illustrating the common theme, was told me by a root-doctor last summer. Jack sold himself to the devil at the crossroads one night at twelve o'clock. For seven years all power was given to him to do as he pleased, but at the end of that period his soul belonged to the devil." [This eventually goes on to tell the story of Jack-o-Lantern, but the crossroads portion of it is given here as illustration of my particular point]• Zora Neale Hurston’s 1931 article on African American folk magic, which has the following item in it:"How to Have a Slick Hand with People. On the dark moon of any Friday night, dress yourself in black. Sit flat in the fork of a cross road at exactly twelve o'clock and sell yourself out to the devil. After which you shall have power to do anything you wish to do (“Hoodoo in America,” 392)"• The appearance of crossroads in European folk magic (such as that found in Charles Leland’s Gypsy Sorcery & Fortune-telling, published in 1891, long before the legends being described in the blues tales)

Again, it makes total sense to me that you went the direction you did, but I wanted to make sure someone pointed out that the story of the crossroads definitely predates the blues musicians' version.